Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 407
4:6–5:7
J ames
395
within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the
Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your
hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between
God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there
be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and
gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift
you up in honor.
Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.
But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God
alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to
destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain
town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a
profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life
is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you
ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all
such boasting is evil.
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all
the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your
fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The
very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This
corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day
of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you
have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have
reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.
Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the
